GDC 10: Sam & Max Season 3 First Look

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Telltale invites us into The Devil's Playhouse.

By Daemon Hatfield

Today at the 2010 Game Developers Conference Telltale revealed the third season of its Sam & Max episodic adventure series. Titled "The Devil's Playhouse," the third series airs April 15 on the PlayStation Network, PC, and Mac. This is the first time Sam & Max are appearing on the PlayStation 3 and also the first time the series will debut on three platforms simultaneously. We got a look at the first episode in The Devil's Playhouse today and came away impressed.

This time around a Rod Serling-style narrator will act as host, ushering players through the story and popping up now and then to provide commentary. The narrator is a ghoulish old man who seems to be Telltale's best-animated character, yet. Overall, what we saw of this first episode was prettier than previous Sam & Max games, but that slight stuttering we've seen in the other console versions was still there. It runs in 1080p and sports real-time shadows.

Telltale is changing its game to encourage players to think through problems instead of trying to use every item in their inventory on every object in sight. Max now has psychic powers like telepathy and the ability to transform into inanimate objects. For many of the puzzles in Devil's Playhouse you'll need to utilize Max's powers instead of a massive inventory.

Episode one begins with Sam & Max being held captive in a spaceship by General Skunkape. The general is busy flying over a city and wreaking havoc, so our heroes must figure out a way to escape with the help of a disembodied alien brain. If you've played the previous episodes you'll see many returning faces in The Devil's Playhouse. Cute girl Stinky is here on the spaceship with Sam & Max, for instance.

Telltale is really trying to make this a console-friendly game, and also trying to welcome new players to the series. Sam keeps a notebook with him players can reference to learn about returning characters and mission objectives. For example, Max is still President at the beginning of The Devil's Playhouse, but newcomers won't know what that is all about. You now directly control Sam & Max, instead of using point-and-click controls. Nearby interactive objects will be highlighted, and you can hold down the R2 button to see all interactive objects in the area.

Episode one of The Devil's Playhouse arrives April 15, with four monthly episodes to follow. Telltale is offering a pre-order incentive to secure the entire season early for $29.99, which amounts to a $5 discount. PlayStation 3 owners can pre-order the series from the PlayStation Store, a first for the service. PC and Mac players who pre-order will gain access to the Sam & Max Elite Forces to chat with the developers. As of now, Telltale isn't selling individual episodes – just the full season.